Collective Wisdom
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Mister701 wrote:Pinecone wrote:One of my most thrilling rides was a 40 degree flap landing in a 172. I had 20' dialed in and looking good but a bit high so for grins I yanked the last 20 in and was deep in the flair when the handle dropped to the floor and I had a sudden change of attitude as a result.
Anyway it was not by skill but self preservation that I pulled the yoke hard up under my chin and prepared for impact all in about a short second. It turned out to be one of the smoothest landings I ever made. I was sweating but looking good you know?
The detents on the catch thingy and the cog itself were badly worn. We replaced them instanter. Now when flying with manual flaps I pull what I need then give the handle a little push down just to be sure.
Had a similar thrilling experience on a takeoff once in the Cubcrafters Sport Cub. The ratchet mechanism for the flap handle wouldn't hold the flaps in position, and would occasionally the dog would pop out of the notch. It happens on a shortfield takeoff in 2nd flap position; the airplane suddenly cleaned itself up while I was doing about 45 mph with a positive pitch and 50 feet off the ground. Luckily it's just a Cub.
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Zzz offline
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Half a century spent proving “it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
Yeah, a Cub, the safest airplane ever built.
It can just barely go fast enough to kill you.
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I had a twist cog jump loose on full flaps in a C-140 on short final to angle across the runway in a strong crosswind. It lost all flaps and speeded a bit. I went into the grass a bit.
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The only documented mechanical failure of an early Mooney’s landing gear retraction mechanism was a case where the pilot went to retract the gear and that big, herky lever broke off at its base. That would be rather disappointing.
I’m currently reading a book about the helicopter war in Vietnam Nam, and one of the pilot’s said he knew he’d been shot down when he realized the collective lever was no longer connected to the helicopter. Reminded me of the Mooney incident.
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contactflying wrote:I had a twist cog jump loose on full flaps in a C-140
What is a twist cog?
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Half a century spent proving “it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
You had to twist the handle to get the teeth to engage at each flap setting. A spring was supposed to keep the teeth set, but it was weak.
I'm old and senile. Somebody who has an original C-140 should explain this.
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mtv wrote:The only documented mechanical failure of an early Mooney’s landing gear retraction mechanism was a case where the pilot went to retract the gear and that big, herky lever broke off at its base. That would be rather disappointing. MTV
What they don't document is when the rear seat passenger rests their foot on the handle catch on the floor and pushes it aft. You get instant gear deployment at cruise speed. It's a rush I can tell you. <edit> The more I think about this I guess what my passenger did was push forward on the sliding mechanism at the top of the handle. It didn't rip the gear doors off such as they are but it's sure is a surprise.
Last edited by
Mister701 on Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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contactflying wrote:You had to twist the handle to get the teeth to engage at each flap setting. A spring was supposed to keep the teeth set, but it was weak.
I'm old and senile. Somebody who has an original C-140 should explain this.
Hmmmm, I’ve never seen anything like that on a Cessna flap handle....? I haven’t flown many 140s, but they had a “standard” flap handle, with a button on the end???
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I am sure you are right, Mike. It am sure it was the slipping button that was giving me grief.
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Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:39 am
The whole "twist cog jump loose" thing threw me too.
But Contact's explanation rang a bell.
A guy I know had a 1946 (first year) C140 which had a twist mechanism on the flap handle,
vs the button that's on all the other Cessna's I've seen.
Onliest one I've ever seen.
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I'm so used to being confused I don't know when my mind is clear. War stories are different. I just remember them being better each time.
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contactflying wrote:I'm so used to being confused I don't know when my mind is clear.
Ha! I can identify with that!
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